NCUC approves Piedmont Natural Gas request to decrease rates for the fourth time in 2018

May 29, 2018

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Average residential customer's bill to decrease by $1 per month

Including this latest decrease, average residential customer's bill to be approximately $6 lower per month

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Today, the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) approved two rate change requests from Piedmont Natural Gas, which together decrease the average residential customer's monthly bill by $1. In May 2018, Piedmont Natural Gas filed requests with the NCUC to change two separate components of its billing rate – the Integrity Management Rider (IMR) and the benchmark commodity cost of natural gas.

The IMR rate change results in a decrease of $.44 per dekatherm for residential customers and a decrease of $.26 per dekatherm for small and medium general-service customers. The benchmark commodity cost of natural gas is increasing from $2.50 per dekatherm to $2.75 per dekatherm.

These rate component changes together result in a residential customer billing rate decrease of $.19 per dekatherm and will take effect June 1, 2018. This will be Piedmont's fourth rate decrease for North Carolina customers in 2018. With this latest rate decrease included, the average residential customer's monthly bill has decreased by approximately $6.

Piedmont requests occasional rate adjustments to reflect changes in the commodity price of the natural gas Piedmont purchases for its customers. By law, Piedmont is not allowed to mark up the cost of natural gas and must pass through the actual cost on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

Piedmont Natural Gas

Piedmont Natural Gas is an energy services company whose principal business is the distribution of natural gas to more than 1 million residential, commercial and industrial customers, as well as power plants, in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Piedmont is routinely recognized by J.D. Power for excellent customer satisfaction, and was named by Cogent Reports in 2017 as one of the most trusted utility brands in the U.S.

Piedmont Natural Gas is a subsidiary of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK).

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is one of the largest energy holding companies in the U.S., with approximately 29,000 employees and a generating capacity of 49,500 megawatts. The company is transforming its customers' experience, modernizing its energy grid, generating cleaner energy and expanding its natural gas infrastructure to create a smarter energy future for the people and communities it serves.

A Fortune 125 company, Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2018 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' 2018 "America's Best Employers" list.